Lessons Learned: Bad Nuts

“Dad, I think your nuts are burning in the oven.” My seven-year-old daughter calmly says. She is used to me being forgetful or dare I say scattered at times. Easily distracted, it is not uncommon for me to bounce from one activity to another or have failed attempts at multitasking. In this case I was attempting to roast my own almonds. I have done it in the past and frankly there is nothing to it except for to not burn them. So, fail on my part. I rushed over grabbed them out and while yes, they were burnt, they weren’t pieces of charcoal. I figured they don’t look that bad, so I choked down a couple and put the rest in containers for my enjoyment later.

Later came on what is now Saturday morning when I decided to have some with breakfast. Just opening the container left my nose filled with the smell of burnt nuts but how bad could they be. I choked down a couple more as my bread toasted when decided this was nuts! (Pun and bad Dad joke totally intended). I stopped eating them and decided that you and I should learn from this situation.

So, what to learn? Focus on doing one thing at a time? Maybe although I do currently have some almonds roasting as I write this. Multitasking is a myth? Possibly, I know some studies do show that. Or maybe it is something much simpler than that. Maybe the simple lesson here is that life it too short to eat burnt nuts!

Tony’s Almond Roasting Recipe:

1. Set oven to 350
2. Pour bag of raw almonds on cookie sheet (buy mine at Trader Joe’s, they seem like the best deal)
3. If you are patient wait for oven to preheat, if not put the pan in now.
4. Roast the almonds until they are golden brown or to desired taste.
5. If you are forgetful set a timer or have your kid remind you to check on almonds.
6. Don’t burn.
7. Remove from oven.
8. Let cool.
9. Enjoy!

I thought a post on the lighter side of life was fitting given the current state of our world. Stay healthy, stay safe, and thanks for reading!